Taking the trophy: Ada hunter makes good on first elk hunt with big bull

Courtesy PhotoAda hunter Joe Zupancic shot this 7 by 6 elk during Michigan's December hunt near Atlanta. The bull weighed 570 pounds field dressed. Zupancic first applied for an elk hunt permit nearly 20 years ago prior to his name being drawn this year.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Of the roughly 32,000 hunters who applied for the December elk hunt in northern Michigan near Atlanta, Joe Zupancic proved one of the lucky ones.

After applying for nearly 20 years, the Ada hunter was one of 77 state and tribal hunters drawn in this year’s elk hunt lottery.

Zupancic also proved to be one highly successful hunter. He dropped a huge 7 by 6 bull the first morning of the hunt, taking it at 60 yards with his Browning A-Bolt 7 Mag. His bull weighed 570 pounds field dressed.

"I told my wife it would look good over the fireplace. And she said 'Yeah, and you will be on the other wall,'" Zupancic said chuckling about his new trophy.

He plans to have a chest mount made and show it off in his downstairs recreation room.

Zupancic was one of 62 hunters who returned home with elk from the December hunt. State wildlife biologists said the hunt came off without a hitch, though it was different this year without snow on the ground.

"Our fingers didn’t get as cold," said Brian Mastenbrook, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources biologist overseeing the hunt. "We had some flurries, but the snow didn’t really stick."

The absence of snow made it more difficult for hunters to find elk tracks. The animals regularly roam the wooded hills and meadows of the elk range around Atlanta. But hunters still managed to kill 29 bulls, 28 cows and 5 calves, Mastenbrook said.

The December hunt was one of two hunt seasons offered in 2011. Hunters also killed 63 elk during the August/September hunt period for a total of 125 animals between the two hunts.

The elk population was estimated at 800-900 animals before the hunt, according Mastenbrook. A population survey is conducted every other year and is planned for January.

Michigan has had a goal of 800-900 elk on the range, but a new draft elk management plan, still out for discussion, calls for fewer elk on the landscape and a broader allowable target range from 500-900 elk.

Elk country is changing in character, Mastenbrook said. There are more people moving in and less aspen to support the elk’s feeding habits. Elk habitat is becoming fragmented and land’s capacity to hold and feed the big animals have been reached, so elk are moving into other areas.

"We’re getting crop damage and other complaints," Mastenbrook said. "Our elk population goals were set for a range that is bigger than we have now."

Mastenbrook said hunters enjoyed an 80 percent success rate in December. The 125 elk taken total was about what was expected.

"It was right there, Mastenbrook said. "The take for both hunts was on the low end of normal, but each was acceptable."The hunt was especially acceptable for Zupancic, who hunted with his son, Joe Zupancic. The pair were guided by Bob Whitney, a local guide who suggested driving around to find the elk herds opening morning.

"He’s a rugged old codger who knows every branch on a tree in that county," Zupancic said. "We saw about 75 elk that morning and 15 bulls. But we couldn’t get a clear shot, so he suggested heading back to the cabin."

They were headed out of the woods on their way back when several cows crossed in front of the hunters. Whitney spotted the bull that was with them. Zupancic got out and took his shot. He hit the elk in the shoulder. It moved on 70 yards and laid down. Zupancic dispatched the animal with a second shot.

"I was looking for a 5 by 5," Zupancic said. "I didn’t realize how big he was."

The animal also impressed Mike Hiner, the North Muskegon taxidermist who is doing the mount and has worked on 75 bull elk over the years.

"It’s a tremendous bull. For free-range elk it’s about as good as it gets. This is the best Michigan elk I have seen," Hiner said. "Joe was worried whether taking that shot first thing in the morning was the right thing to do. I said ‘Trust me. It was the right thing. You weren’t going to see one bigger.’"